Have you found yourself?

For me, it too me many years to find myself. I think I am still learning new things each day that bless me, that make me remember the past that has lead me to be the person I am now. From when we are small we begin finding ourselves. We all want to be loved, and we all want to fit in with others. We want to be people pleasers, we want to make all those around us happy. We want to try to do everything, not leaving any room for silence. At times I think we are afraid of the silence that can fill a room, that can fill our hearts. I searched so many places trying to understand just who I was. When we are young, we have dreams of becoming everything from Miss America to the President of the United States. We were meant to have dreams, we were meant to strive for our dreams, for it those dreams in us that begin to change the world around us. As women we can try to find ourselves in our husband, our children, our friends, our jobs, our hobbies, and it doesn't just stop there. We can begin to feel unappreciated in all those areas and begin searching outside of our boundaries. We can begin to look for enjoyment elsewhere, as in going out with the girls, going to places we know we have no business. We can begin to search for new friendships that are leading us in different directions. We can begin to look at others at our job for encouragement. As we find ourselves searching more and more for who we are, we begin to lose sight of who we are as well. Maybe your children no longer come around, maybe your husband or wife no longer gives you the attention you are yearning for. Maybe that job isn't letting you climb the latter as fast as you want. Maybe the hobbies we so enjoyed at one time are not so fun anymore. Sometimes we can want changes in our lives, but we feel stuck in a rut. When life gets hard many times we can turn to alcohol and drugs, not just drugs on the street, but those in your medician cabinet. We begin to want to escape all around us, the chores, the taking care of our parents, the job, the family, it seems to all pile on you at once and you just want to escape into silence, that you once thought you didn't want. I am here to share with you, I too have been in some of these situations. You want all fixed right now, you want the joy, the happiness, the contentment, you want you home clean, you want your family with you, you want everything to be perfect. Our lives were not meant to be perfect, we are going to stumble and fall, we are going to try to find what pleases us and makes us feel better. One thing I can share I struggled with is when my girls left home, everytime it would hit, the pain was so much to bear, I would try to make myself feel better by shopping. Only to buy something, that a week later didn't satisfy, it didn't cover the pain any longer. We all have different ways we try to escape pain. I too was reading a book a day. They were christian books, but I would begin and not stop until I was finished. It took my mind off the pain awhile, it took me somewhere else, until I finished, only needing another to take its place. Christ is the only thing to satisfy what we are so searching for. His love comforts us, His love covers our hurt, His peace comes in the middle of the night when you wake remembering a peice of your past. He isn't our magic genie, He isn't Santa to bring us gifts to make us happy, He comes and knocks on the door of our hearts, He feels our pain and He knows how to help. He can dry those tears, He can help you overcome those addictions you have. He can give you the strength to climb over each mountain you are facing, and He can show you the beauty in the valleys. He can show you you are His precious child, and He loves you, because each of us were made in His image. We were put together with His loving hands. He doesn't create only to leave what He has placed together. When we are born again, we feel born again as a new person. We go to Him just as we are, we don't have to change for Him, we allow Him to make those changes for us. It doesn't happen over a day, each day is a new day in Christ, and we can wake each day knowing He is never going to leave us, He is never going to hurt us, He is never going to put us down, He is never going to call us names, and He is forever going to love us. Whatever you are facing today, maybe you are going through a divorce, maybe you have lost someone close, maybe you are ill, maybe like me you are caring for an aging parent, whatever the struggle, whatever the hurt, Jesus is your answer. He will fill us, He will cleanse us, and He will refresh us. Do you need to be forgiven? Forgive yourself of your struggle, and no know that there is no one perfect. Ask Christ to forgive you of your sins, and to help you in your struggles. Happiness is a feeling, and it comes and goes. But joy is lasting, and with His joy it will be with us in whatever the situation facing us. We cannot overcome anything on our own, but with Christ all is possible. Let Christ in, let your heart be healed by Him, let Him take your pain and your burdens, for they are not for you to carry alone. When you can't seem to walk on your own, He will carry through until you are able to walk again. For me, I still have struggles, but I know that I am not perfect, but I know that I have found myself in Jesus and you can to. When we get close to Christ, He begins to show us things through His eyes, we begin to understand things better, and we can stop searching, we can stop trying to help ourselves alone, and allow Him to care for us. Today is the day to lay down all that your heart is heavy with, make a change today, and allow Christ to make a new life in you with His love and will. Remember the woman with the bleeding disorder? She had a bleeding disorder for years, and in this pain, she suffered greatly. She had searched for help, she had searched for answers and found none. She not only suffered from the pain, but she was outcast, for she was unclean and had to leave the presence of others. I can't imagine the pain she felt, the tears she shed, but there was an answer she didn't know about. She had great faith in Christ, and as He came into town, she touched His garment. He felt the touch, He knew exactly who she was and what her need was. Although the disciples were asking who touched Christ, He knew and turned to her. It wasn't the touch that healed her, it was her great faith in a mighty God. God can do miracles, He can move mountains, and He can bring you peace that you can't understand. He can bring forgiveness we don't deserve, and He can give His mercy and grace upon His love and cover us with all He has. Turn to Him today as the woman with the disorder did. May your faith in Christ bring healing to all that hurts, bring the need that God sees, and fill you with His everlasting love~ "And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself,'If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.' But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said,'Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.' And the woman was made well from that hour." Matthew 9:20-22 "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12 "For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings." Psalm 61:3-4